"Look at him... Today again, he's sticking out like a sore thumb." 

More murmurs heard everywhere, every corner of the school.

Why?

"Byun Baekhyun!! Again! Why don't you wear your school uniform?!" The discipline teacher, Mr. Jung, scolded from the other end of the school hallway. 

The said person, Byun Baekhyun, see the situation as the cue to run away. He run and run to the other side of the school and pants. He sighs in relief as Mr. Jung is out of the sight. 

What's wrong? Well, it's nothing. If wearing a ripped blue jeans, with a bright yellow shirt and a bright orange jacket also an addition of black sunglasses to school... is nothing wrong then, what's a big deal?

The school had required their students to wear their blue school uniforms. It is cool though... With a white button up and red tie to complete the students look. For girls, they wear skirts while boys, usual long pants. All in all, it is cool. 

Well, even though they have their own uniforms, they are given the chance to wear whatever they want for the additional class on Saturday. 

They all comply with the rules. Every rules. 

Except for one. Who sticks out like a sore thumb. 

Byun Baekhyun.

"Hey... Look at that... The sore thumb." Oh Sehun, one of the school's basketball player, stated as he spotted the rumored Baekhyun on their way to their classes. Kris Wu, the new basketball team's chinese leader, and Park Chanyeol, the former basketball team's leader and player, turned their head to the said person. Smirk makes it way on Kris' lips while Chanyeol grins.

"Well, if it is not Byun Baekhyun." Sehun snickered at Kris' remark. "Hey, Chanyeol, why don't you teach your classmate the rules of this school?" The tallest among them arches an eyebrow.

Chanyeol just shrugged before making his way to the 'sore thumb'. "Hey Baekhyun, you're being a... sun today?" Baekhyun, who is now smiling widely as Chanyeol noticed him, can't help but to blush. 

Baekhyun noticed something is not right so he shifted his position to his right a little bit so he is now in the left line of Chanyeol's vision. He grinned so widely. "Well, the weather today is good to not be in bright color." Chanyeol knows the slight gesture of Baekhyun just now but left it as it is.

"Got caught with Mr. Jung?"

"Always." He giggled cutely. "Oh!" Baekhyun remembered something as he reaches for his school bag on his back and pulls out a plastic bag. "Here... I've made kimbap this morning and there were more left. But then, I remembered you. Take it." He holds it out to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol smiles warmly. "Thanks." He reaches for it. "Let's go to class?" 

"Yep!" 

Chanyeol turns around as their class is on the opposite way. Baekhyun starts to walk beside Chanyeol on the right but then, the former starts to notice something again. He stops his track but before Chanyeol could stopped his, Baekhyun is already on his left. Chanyeol scrunched his forehead before shrugging and continue their way to class. 

It is always like this. Baekhyun lurking in the hallway until he meet Chanyeol before walking to class together. He will never give up to walk along the hallway, even passed his class, to find Chanyeol first. Unless, the latter is absent. Other than that. He will search for him in the sake of walking to class together. 

However, it is starting since the middle of last year. Baekhyun had been like what everyone said, sticking out like a sore thumb.

He never failed to wear something that no one thinks of. He even once, wore a vampire costume to school when the Halloween day had passed like a month ago. 

Whatever everyone thinks of, Chanyeol thinks differently. He thinks that Baekhyun is adorable as he is.

They have been friends for three years. Baekhyun had feeling for the taller for almost forever and Chanyeol just realized his feeling at the beginning of this year, their last year in highschool. Chanyeol just wait for a great timing to confess to Baekhyun.

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

"Uhh... You're a tree today?" Chanyeol questioned the shorter once he spotted him in the hallway the next morning. 

Baekhyun shifted to his right, in the left line of Chanyeol's sight, and grinned until his eyes turned crescent moon. "Well, nothing's new." He shrugged as he looked down to his outfit. A brown long pants and button up shirt with a dark green jacket. He looked up again to Chanyeol who is smiling fondly.

"Let's go?" Baekhyun nods and they walked to their class. As they sits in their seats, Baekhyun on Chanyeol's left, Kim Jongin, another player of the school basketball team and the school heartthrob, and his boyfriend, Do Kyungsoo, who are sitting in front of their seats, turn around to them. 

"Hey Captain, hey Baek-... You're a tree?" Kyungsoo smacked lightly on his boyfriend's head. "Ouch." 

"Leave him alone." Baekhyun and Chanyeol snickered. 

"By the way, Jongin. I am no longer your Captain or even a player now. You guys have Kris, isn't it? Stop calling me Captain." Chanyeol said with a light tone. There is no disappointment in his voice. Just a touch of encouragement. 

Kai pouted while still rubbing the back of his head where Kyungsoo smacked earlier. "But old habit dies hard." 

"Well... Force it to die. It's been what..? Like... Ten months now." A bit hint of plea was heard in his voice. Baekhyun, who is just being in silence, watched the scene with something glimmers in his eyes. Kyungsoo caught it and they stared at each other before a small understanding smile is exchanged to one another. 

It is because, just Kyungsoo alone knows about why Baekhyun being a sore thumb and they kept it as a secret since the start of nickname. Even Chanyeol didn't ask him, why. For Chanyeol, he is glad that Baekhyun being that way because he could easily spotted the smaller in the crowd.

Never once people asked why would he do that. Why would he sacrifice himself to be a sore thumb, to be acknowledged by everyone. 

Ever since then, even on Saturday, when students are free to wear their favourable fashion, Baekhyun will wear something extravagant than that. While everyone being fashionable on Saturday, Baekhyun will make a fool of himself and wear some funny costumes, just to be different from everyone else. Baekhyun never run out of ideas to wear different outfits everyday.

And that is where a problem occur. He is out of ideas now. It's been almost a year, he never wear his school uniform anymore and everyone is curious as to how will he looked in his uniform now. That is how long he never touched his uniform. 

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

"Oh my... Kyungsoo... I don't know what to wear any other day than tomorrow." Baekhyun grunts in his phone while on the other end of the line is Kyungsoo who is typing something on his laptop. It is Thursday night. 

"What will you wear tomorrow?" He asked, curious, while stopped typing.

"Urm..." Baekhyun glanced at his all grey outfit for tomorrow which lay on his study chair. "Something near as... An elephant?" 

Baekhyun was sure that Kyungsoo on the other end is making his infamous poker face before continuing typing on his laptop. "Let me guess... All grey?" Baekhyun sighs.

"Yeah..." 

"Look... Why don't you wear your uniform again?" Kyungsoo asked hesitantly.

"You know why, Kyungsoo. Moreover, the day after tomorrow is Saturday where all of them will wear something similar to me. He will never notice me in that way... And he will ignore me again, and treat me as the same as the others." 

Kyungsoo kept being in silence because he understands. He understands all the single things what is Baekhyun talking about. "I don't know, Baek." He said, apologetically. 

"It's okay, Soo... Thanks for listening by the way... I'll just..." Baekhyun closed his eyes and rest his head on his pillow comfortably. "I'll try to think of something."

Kyungsoo smiles to no one in particular. He thinks that Baekhyun, his childhood friend since forever, is a strong and great friend. 

Because all of his doing is just an act to fight for something that he love... Or more like for someone that he loves. 

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

Out of all days, since last year, today, when Baekhyun is the sibling of an elephant, Chanyeol decided to ask the former, the question that no one asked since then. 

"Baekhyun? Can I ask you something?" 

They are now on the rooftop of the school, spending their time together over lunch, like always. And Baekhyun never fail to be on Chanyeol's left side. 

"Hmm?" He hummed before taking a bite on his sandwiches. Baekhyun munches on the sandwiches, unaware of the pair of eyes, watching his every moves.

Chanyeol gulps before putting down his own lunch, which is a potato bread. "Why... Are you wearing like this?"

Baekhyun halted his moves.

"I mean, not wearing uniform? Risk yourself from being caught by Mr. Jung and... And... Being a sore... thumb?" 

Baekhyun blinks before looks down on his lap. He swallowed his munched sandwiches. "Why? Is this annoy you?" He asked in fidget manner. 

"No... No. I just... Is there any reason at all?" Chanyeol sends his warm gaze to his left side, where Baekhyun is. 

Baekhyun kept mum before nodding his head a bit. "Yeah..."

Chanyeol feels something in his chest dropped to the pit of his stomach. "W-why? What is it? The reason?" He whispered. No longer warm gaze, just a frown on his face. He waits until Baekhyun looks up at him and looks him in the eye. 

A while later, Baekhyun do just that and said something that makes Chanyeol's happy vibes to disappear completely. "It is for someone to notice me. To notice my feeling for them. To always be in their eyes and being remembered of."

Chanyeol left his lunch and storms off from the rooftop. He felt sick. He never thought that Baekhyun will do that, do the ordinary things just for someone to notice him. But he does and there is someone in Baekhyun's heart.

"It is you, Chanyeol." Baekhyun whispered to no one as his eyes are still on the closed door where Chanyeol stormed off just now. 

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

The next day, Saturday, everyone is anticipating the arrival of the sore thumb. They are curious on what will the smaller wear today as everyone is being fashionable today. Maybe is it the Nemo costumes or just wear all black like a mafia gang or even all white, like an angel who just fall from the sky.

Chanyeol, who is restless as he hasn't seen Baekhyun since yesterday's lunch, waiting for Baekhyun in fidgeting manner. He had thought all night and decided to confess before Baekhyun leave from his grip. He need to act faster before someone else snatch Baekhyun in front of his own eyes. 

Chanyeol is wearing something comfortable, some black jeans, white shirt and a baby blue jacket. He is waiting, standing at the school entrance just like a model in a photo shoot site. But then, as he confirms that Baekhyun is absent as he did not arrived yet, Chanyeol walked into school hallway to his class. His shoulders are slumped, eyes looked down. He can't do this. He needs to meet Baekhyun and pour his feelings all over. Telling him how much he likes the latter. He needed to but he knows, it has to wait until the next Morning.

As he almost reached his class, he heard sudden gasps around him. Weird, he thought. What's wrong?

Chanyeol looks up to his front and saw his friends gaping at whatever it is at his behind. Did not thinking much, he turns and that's is when he also gaped like everyone else. "Baekhyun?"

Baekhyun, who shifted again on his right to be in Chanyeol's left line of sight, smiled widely as always. "I knew this will make you notice me."

There, Baekhyun stands in the school hallway, wearing school uniform, completed with styled hair and pitch black shoes, on Saturday, when every other students are wearing a complete opposite of his. 

"Byun Baekhyun?! Why would you always break the rules?!" Mr. Jung's voice echoed in the hallway. Baekhyun grinned before he reaches for Chanyeol's hand and dragged the latter to the bleacher in the field. 

As they reached there, they panted and sits. After a moment of silence, the both of them laughed together. "We're reversed now, eh?" 

Baekhyun smiles wholeheartedly. "Yeah..." He looks down before bravely stares into Chanyeol's eyes. "Actually... I wanted to say that... That someone is you, Chanyeol."

"What?" Chanyeol is flabbergasted now. 

"I know that your right eye is blurry since the incident in your tournament. You lose your right eyesight since the ball hit your head hard last year, right? That is why you dropped from your team, basketball team and that is why you let Kris take your title as a Captain. And that is also why, I always be on your left side." 

A realization hits Chanyeol hard. "That is..."

"You know... Last year, after two weeks of you missing from the tournament, I feel scared. What is happening. I don't know what happened at the tournament. But then, after two weeks, you're back and as a good friend I am, I want to ask, what is wrong. Why did you disappear for two weeks but even before I could grabbed your attention, you passed by me like I am some other stranger to you. I always did something to have your attention but you never respond to me. 

"At that time, I was thinking, is this the end? However, after a week of being ignored by you, I got to know your condition through Kyungsoo, which he knows from Jongin, his boyfriend also your friend and teammate. In that moment... I made my own self as a... Sore thumb. Since then, I will always have an idea to wear something that will make you notice me. And it worked. I just need to try hard. Because... I... Like you since the first time we met. I've fallen for you since then." Baekhyun whispered the last sentence, afraid that Chanyeol can't accept his feelings.

"Well, congrats Byun. Because you have successfully grabbed my attention and beware, I will always look at you from now on." Chanyeol grinned.

"What are we doing here again?" 

"Will you do something for me?" 

"Uh... Of course."

"So, yeah... Let's dye your hair into something grand that will make you sticks out like a sore thumb to me. I will always notice you after that."

"What? But... What color is grand to you anyway?"

"Urm... How about rainbow?"

"What?!"